Complaints about the unruly behavior of some locals during the annual “Wattah Wattah” Festival in San Juan City last Monday filled social media.
The city on June 24 commemorated the feast of its patron saint, St. John the Baptist, which involved its traditional “basaan” or water dousing activity.
The “basaan” commemorates Jesus Christ’s baptism by St. John, while the date signifies John’s nativity or birth.
St. John is also known as the precursor of Jesus who paved the way for his distant cousin, urging his followers to repent their sins and be baptized in preparation for the coming Messiah.
On its website, San Juan City said that the festival also celebrates the “pouring of blessings” and San Juan’s continuous success and abundance.
Last year, the city commemorated the feast without the “basaan” in consideration of the water crisis spurred by the El Niño phenomenon.
This year, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said the city would have a limited “watercade” wherein three firetrucks were assigned to join the festivities.
While the celebration delighted many locals, others found the activity an unpleasant experience.
A Redditor reposted a post by another Reddit user who felt “furious” about the traditional “basaan” because it greatly inconvenienced some people.
The Reddit user in the shared post said that their mobile phone and laptop got wet during the feast, claiming that locals messed with the jeep they were riding at that time.
“Pinigilan nila ‘yung jeep namin. Gusto na silang banggain ng driver pero binuhusan nila bigla ng isang tabong tubig sa mukha ‘yung driver. Buti nga hindi naapakan ‘yung pedal dahil baka may mas malaking aksidente pang mangyari,” the Reddit user wrote.
“‘Yung mga students na kasabay o, walang nagawan kundi umiyak [na lang]. ‘Yung mga documents na hawak nila ay basang-basa. Magpapasa sana sila ng requirements for university pero ‘yung school card, good moral, diploma, at birth certificates nila ay nabasa,” the Reddit user continued.
The online user also claimed that the child beside them was “almost drowned” by the large amount of water being thrown by the locals from the window.
“May isang malaking drum na bigla nilang binuhos sa bintana kung saan nakaupo ‘yung bata. Sigaw nang sigaw ‘yung nanay [niya], pero tawa lang nang tawa ‘yung mga basurang tao na nasa labas ng jeep,” the Reddit user alleged.
Why does this festival exist in the Philippines?
byu/thereal_Xy inPhilippines
Another Redditor claimed to have a colleague whose vehicle window got smashed by those who wanted to douse them with water in the area.
“Naka-confine and need daw operahan kasi sa sobrang gusto silang basain, pilit binuksan ‘[yung] kotse nila and binasag [‘yung] salamin. Sa kanya tumalsik ‘yung mga basag na salamin,” the online user commented.
A user on the X (formerly Twitter) platform also claimed a child they were with on a jeep got wet. The X user alleged that the child came from an operation.
“Nakiusap ‘yung nanay na ‘wag basain ‘yung bata pero ‘yung mga p**ingina, wala daw silang [paki] kasi fiesta,” the X user wrote.
The online user also claimed that another passenger, a college student from Bataan, got their thesis papers wet after locals got inside their jeep and doused them with water.
“Unexpectedly experienced this during our OJT (on the job training) in college~ basa ako nung nag-report kami sa main office ng company na pinag-OJT-an namin, ang galing,” another online user wrote.
Videos of the “Wattah Wattah” festival also circulated online. One clip featured a rider of a motorcycle hailing app being doused with water against his will.
‘WATTAH! WETTAH!💦
Bawal ka mapikon.. Kuyog kana tapos may pa ayug-ayug pa! Pota. Ang hirap nman tlgang pumalag dito.😬🤭
Wattah wattah | San Juan pic.twitter.com/X8JGSMQ6Dz
— jcco (@Jjcruz2) June 27, 2024
Reports said that a man was also splashed with muriatic acid on the face during the festivities. The suspect was taken to the police station.
Sen. JV Ejercito, who used to be the city mayor for nine years, also aired his sadness over how the festival was conducted compared before.
“Mula noong 2003, nang unang Wattah! Wattah!, pinaghirapan nating maging maayos ito at magkaroon ng sariling tema at identity. Ilang taon ang ginugol bago naging maganda at inaabangan ang piyesta,” he said on Facebook on June 27.
“Nilagyan natin ng rules at parameters para hindi na mabalik sa dating magulo ang tradisyon ng basaan. Nilimitahan ang oras, ipinagbawal ang pagbasa sa mga passersby at mga papasok sa trabaho. Ginawan ng sariling tema, kanta, sayaw, at identity ang Fiesta upang maging mas organisado, kaaya-aya, at higit sa lahat, walang kaguluhan,” the lawmaker added.
Ejercito said that the water festival before could be compared to other major festivities in the country like the “Sinulog,” “Dinagyang” and “Panagbengga,” among others.
“Bilang dating Mayor na nag-conceptualize, nag-organisa, at nag-ayos ng San Juan Fiesta, ako ay sadyang nalulungkot na nagbalik ito sa dating kaguluhan, at walang disiplina ang mga nakikipagbasaan. Hindi ganito ang mga San Juaneños,” he lamented.
“Marahil ay nagkulang sa preparasyon at pagpapaalala. Dati ay pinahuhuli ko mismo ang mga nanggugulo at nambabasa sa mga papasok sa trabaho. Nasayang ang diwa ng San Juan Fiesta. Ako man ay humihingi ng pasensya sa mga naperwisyo ng kapistahan,” the senator said.
What the city says
On June 26, two days after the festival, the San Juan City Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office issued an apology for the chaotic incident and assured the public that it was “seriously” reviewing all of the complaints.
The office added that it is actively gathering evidence of the chaos, saying that the submitted videos were being analyzed to see who went against City Ordinance No. 51 (series of 2018) and other legislation.
It also encouraged those who have videos or pictures showing chaotic incidents to submit it to them, adding they will be forwarded to the San Juan City Police Station for further investigation and legal action.
The office said those who were found violating the city ordinance and other legislation will be held accountable and penalized accordingly.
Zamora also personally apologized to the victims following complaints over the water fest.
“Ako po ay humihingi ng paumanhin at pasensya sa mga nangyaring ‘yan noong panahon ng aming kapistahan. Alam niyo po ako ay hindi papayag na ang imahe at reputasyon ng lungsod ng San Juan at ng aming kapistahan ay masira ng dahil sa iilang mamamayang nanggulo,” he said in a press conference on June 27.
“Sisiguraduhin ko na ang lahat niyan ay makasuhan ng nararapat na mga kaso base sa aming mga ordinansa at ganoon din, base sa Revised Penal Code, upang sila po ay matuto ng leksyon,” the city chief added.
Zamora also said City Ordinance No. 51 provides that unruly behaviors during the “Wattah Wattah” Festival could be penalized with a fine of P2,500 to P5,000, with up to six days of imprisonment.
He also mentioned the possibility of “sabotage” as the festival was open to everyone, not just city residents.
“Unang una, hindi naman natin ma-identify kung sino ba ang mga pumupunta sa aming kapistahan. Open to all naman po ang aming kapistahan… So potentially, open to sabotage din talaga ang mga ganitong selebrasyon,” the mayor said.
He encouraged the victims to come to his office and said he would like them to personally file a case before their fiscal so the perpetrators could be penalized under the Revised Penal Code for heavier penalties.
